(Mis)Uses of Technology

(Mis)Uses of Technology

by Mike Masnick




New CD Crashes Computers

from the moronic-music-industry dept

It is getting very depressing to read about just how far the music industry is willing to go to get us to all act like criminals. Apparently, the latest Celine Dion CD not only won't play on any computer - but it will actually crash that computer. I would suggest that this could be illegal, in that they are deliberately releasing technology to screw up your computer. I've tried many times to suggest that the music industry is hurting themselves by doing these things, but they just don't get it. Some people (such as myself) use our computers as our stereos. I don't share music. I buy a ton of CDs every year. And, yet, now I suddenly won't be able to listen to certain CDs because the music industry is afraid I might be a thief. It's a good thing I already can't stand Celine Dion music.

10 Comments | Leave a Comment..

 
 

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  1. Apr 4th, 2002 @ 3:21am

    CD that won't play in a computer

    by Tetsubo

    What happened to presumed innocent until proven guilty?

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  2. Apr 4th, 2002 @ 5:09am

    true cause

    by Anonymous Coward

    ahahaha - it was the music that crashed them, not the CD. Anyone buying Celine deserves to have their pc wiped.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  3. Apr 4th, 2002 @ 5:14am

    CD copy protection

    by Robert Fielder

    What is really stupid, is that all this is really not needed.

    Had the music industry been open minded, and made the music available for sale online at a reasonable price, there would have been ** NO NEED ** for file swapping services, or copy protection, or the B.S. about intellectual rights.

    Most people are honest. Given the opportunity, they will pay for what they get. Take away the opportunity, and you are forcing them to look for other alternatives.

    Which is what the music industry has done - force music lovers to look for alternatives.

    Talk about shooting yourself in the foot - the amount of revenues they could have earned over the last five years is staggering!

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  4. Apr 4th, 2002 @ 6:12am

    Already ripped and available

    by Anonymous Coward

    The funny thing is that the entire CD has already been ripped and is easily available through your favorite Kazaa or FastTrack provider.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  5. Apr 4th, 2002 @ 9:31am

    Yeah this is stupid but...

    by Ed

    ...if the computer crashes (or the drive is damaged, as some claim, but which I doubt), then the computer/drive is poorly engineered.

    ...there's a big difference between being unable to play the music tracks properly and crashing. Somehow I think that difference wasn't clear to the people reporting the story.

    Sony sells PC's, too -- ones with touted multimedia capabilities. Do they crash? It's interesting to see Philips as practically the only big consumer electronics manufacturer coming down squarely on the side of the consumer here. I doubt that would have been the case even for Philips a few years ago when they owned Polygram.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  6. Apr 4th, 2002 @ 10:26am

    Causes of copying music

    Had the music industry been open minded, and made the music available for sale online at a reasonable price, there would have been ** NO NEED ** for file swapping services, or copy protection, or the B.S. about intellectual rights.

    Robert, I disagree. Back when LPs cost $8.99 and blank chrome cassettes were $3 a pop, I was more of a music-copying hound than I am now.

    Music is about access and quantity, something avid fans have known for years. The Internet brought this breadth to the masses, and the record industry doesn't know what to do about it.

    I believe embracing multimedia is the answer to the problem, and that Sony is very misguided with the Celine Dion CD (how many fans are in for a big surprise when they bring their album to work?). But let's be sure to place blame where it belongs.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  7. Apr 4th, 2002 @ 11:13am

    Stop playing that before it breaks my stereo!!

    by u2604ab


    "Stop playing that before it breaks my stereo!" was a common refrain when I was a kid playing music my buddy didn't like in his stereo-system.

    Nice to know that there may actually be a bit of truth to that once sarcastic statement.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  8. Apr 4th, 2002 @ 5:46pm

    Stoopid Music companies

    by Smiddi69

    I agree with statement "They just dont get it". Lets be honest here and cut the Piracy B.S.

    I have bought hundreds of CD's often after downloading an MP3 first, and my PC is the Stereo at home. If I buy CD's that wont play in a computer, I will (like most) download the music as MP3's. We all miss out then. The music industry has shot it self in the foot by limiting our options/choices.
    But what are our options?........Buy the album and buy a Specialised CD player just for music. (This is the ONLY choice they are giving us).

    I'm sure most people will turn to the MP3 option.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  9. Apr 4th, 2002 @ 7:56pm

    Re: Stoopid Music companies

    by John Williams

    If the CD actually does crash and it's for some valid technical reason (not just bad music), and this becomes prevalent in the industry, then it will be what, maybe two days before a plug-in if available for this?

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  10. Aug 19th, 2002 @ 4:24pm

    workaround

    by zac

    an eternal debate i think. i do download mp3s, as i think most who post here do, however i'm into using mp3s as a 'sampling' before buying - after all, what sort of music lover is happy to settle for the low quality of mp3s over audio cd?
    aside from all this - i like using my iMac to play cds (yes, ones that i have bought) while i work. imagine my shock when i tried playing my new cd and it was just spat back out at me! i have discovered a workaround though - and i post it here in the hope that it will be used wisely. it seems that toast titanium (i'm not sure about other burning software) when open will allow you to insert whatever cd you like - even if it is that new celine dion cd, though i hope no self respecting mac user ever puts one of her 'discs of death' (in more sense than one) in their drive.
    if there are other workarounds like this one - i'd be glad to hear them.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

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